Twisted Situations
by Midie
Summary: Drake and Josh have switched places! Drake's caught in Josh's body and Josh is stuck in Drake's. How are the guys going to handle this situation?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who read and reviewed "Christmas Shoes." I don't think I've ever written Drake better. I was also glad I could inspire Gingerrogersforever for her awesome fic. I've begun another fic. This one is purely fun. I'll explain things more in a moment, especially for those looking for the next story in my series. I'm posting this one as I write. Normally I write the entire thing, and then I post. Anyway, Drake and Josh think the other must have it easy. Josh sees that Drake can get the girls and plays guitar. Drake thinks that Josh is great at school and...well, that's about it. The guys wake up to find...they've switched! Chaos ensues as the guys try to figure out how to get out of each other's bodies.

I think most of you have heard about Drake Bell's accident. Fortunately, he is home and on the road to recovery. Keep up the positive thoughts and, if you believe, prayers.

Due to the situation, I can't bring myself to post the next story in my series, as some of the characters' pasts deal with car accidents. I just don't think I should or can post it. Right now, I'd much rather post a more humorous story, which is the reason for this fanfiction. I was hoping that the other authors who post Drake & Josh fanfiction could do the same. It would brighten everybody's moods because the best thing we can do for Drake right now is to think positive and be glad he's home.

* * *

Bzzz bzzz bzzz 

Drake Parker reached up a hand and hit the alarm clock hard. He managed to push the snooze button. Drake turned back over and continued sleeping. His step-brother, Josh Nichols, sat up in his own bed and glanced at Drake. Why couldn't he get up to his alarm clock like a normal person? Josh grabbed the clothes he'd laid out for himself the night before and headed to the bathroom. He got into the shower and began to get ready for the day.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the bedroom, the alarm went off again. Drake sighed and turned off the alarm. He smashed his face into his pillow and attempted to fall asleep again. Josh, clean and dressed, walked back into the bedroom and took one look at his brother. 

"Hey, Drake," said Josh. "Would you get up already? We're gonna be late for school if you do this."

Drake turned his head to look in Josh's direction.

"Really?" replied Drake. "Don't worry about me, okay?" He turned back over on his side.

"Drake, would you just get out of bed?"

"Yes, Mommy," Drake replied sarcastically. He crawled out of his bed and hopped down onto their bedroom floor. Drake headed to the bathroom with clothes in hand. He stopped and looked into the mirror. His hair was a bit messed up from sleeping. He showered and then dried his hair. Much better. He left the bathroom and headed downstairs to eat some breakfast before he left.

"Megan!" Josh cried as Drake entered the kitchen.

"What'd she do now?" asked Drake.

"I'd rather not discuss it," Josh replied, looking irritated.

Drake shrugged and grabbed an apple.

"Now," said Josh, "if you hadn't taken so long, you could have eaten a proper breakfast and not an apple."

"Um...who cares?" responded Drake. He left the kitchen and headed out the door.

Josh stared after his brother. Why couldn't he be more responsible?

* * *

The two boys arrived at school. They split up and headed to their lockers. Josh passed a pretty girl. He decided to talk to her. Since he'd broken up with Mindy, he decided he'd better try and date other girls. Josh walked over to the girl and gave her a smile. 

"Hello," she said.

"H-hi," Josh responded.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"J-j-joe, Jack, Jay, Jim, John..." Josh blabbered.

"Josh?" she asked.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"That's what your notebook says."

"Oh," said Josh looking down. They heard the bell ring. "So," said Josh, glancing up. Unfortunately, the girl was gone. "Me and my incoherent speech around women!"

"What are you yapping about?" asked Drake, walking up behind Josh.

"I still can't talk to girls!"

"Well, you were dating that creature for a while. Didn't give you much practice."

"Creature again? Not much practice? I can't do it, Drake!"

"So, you're a little rusty. That's fixable." At that moment, a blonde walked by and caught Drake's eye. "Excuse me," he said.

Drake approached the girl, and sure enough, returned to Josh with a date for Friday night.

Josh sighed. It was good to be Drake Parker. Why couldn't Josh talk to girls like that?

* * *

Mrs. Haifer handed back the tests from the previous week in her English class. 

"Josh," she said. "You did wonderfully. You got an A+."

"Cool," said Josh.

"Drake," said Mrs. Haifer. "You got a D-. Try to do better next time."

Drake took his test and sighed. It was good to be Josh Nichols. Well, not the inability to talk to girls. Or being a dork. Or...well, you know. Josh was good at school. Of course, Josh studied. Drake didn't want to waste his time doing that.

* * *

Josh poked at his lunch. Apart from messing things up with that girl this morning, everything was going pretty well. It was always great to see a plus sign tacked onto the A. Josh glanced up and noticed Mindy walking toward him. She glanced around and sat down across from him. 

"Hello," said Josh.

"Um, Josh," said Mindy. "Do you think maybe we made a mistake?"

"How?" asked Josh.

"I mean, do you think we shouldn't have broken up?"

Josh thought a minute. He had really liked Mindy. He couldn't remember why they'd broken up in the first place.

"Do you want to go out with me again Mindy?" asked Josh.

"I guess so," she replied. "If you want to go out with me again."

"Sure Mindy," Josh replied.

Drake had been walking by Josh and Mindy. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. After Mindy left, he approached Josh.

"What are you doing?" asked Drake.

"Eating lunch," Josh replied. "It's something we normally do at the noon hour."

"No," said Drake. "What are you doing going out with the creature again?"

"I liked Mindy, I can't remember why we broke up."

"Oh, come on."

"Really."

"Fine, ruin your love life. See if I care."

* * *

It was about ten o'clock and Josh was finishing his report on _The Grapes of Wrath_, and Drake was sitting on his bed playing his guitar. 

"You know, you could do your homework," said Josh. "Then your grades would go up."

"I don't think so," said Drake.

"Why are you so lazy?"

"Why do you care?"

Josh stood up, and Drake jumped down from his bed.

"You know, it's so easy being you," said Josh. "I can't stand it. You just sit around and play your guitar. You never do your homework. You just talk to girls."

"Hey, it's not as easy as it looks, you know that," Drake snapped back. "None of it is. I'm not smart like you are either."

"Hey, I work hard!" Josh replied, irritated. "It's not easy to be me either."

"Yeah right," said Drake. "If I were you, I'd know how to talk to girls, and it wouldn't be that horrible one you keep going out with."

"If I were you, you wouldn't get too many dates, but at least you'd pass your classes."

"Oh yeah, and that's what's really important in life."

Josh paused and looked off to the side with a look of confusion written across his face.

"You know, I wish you could be me," said Josh. "Then you could see it's no picnic."

"Oh yeah?" said Drake. "So do I. I wish you could be me."

"This is silly," said Josh, laughing. "What are the odds that would ever happen?"

"Yeah, you're right," Drake laughed. "I mean seriously, we're really gonna switch places? Yeah right."

Both guys laughed and climbed into bed. Such a shame for them, they hadn't noticed the freak shooting star pass through the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game. 

Author's Note: From here on out, you'll have to use your imagination. Anything spoken or thought by Drake will come from Josh's body and sound like Josh. Anything spoken or thought by Josh will appear to come from Drake. Get that? It'll probably be a little confusing at first, but if you have questions, ask me. This is much similar to _Freaky Friday_ and the episode of "Jimmy Neutron" where Jimmy and Cindy switch brains...hope that helps.

My birthday was today. Yay! Well, it was the 6th of January. Same day as _Drake & Josh Go Hollywood_. Anyway, liked the movie.

* * *

The alarm clock went off the next morning, as it did every day. It was odd. The loud buzzing sounded a bit distant to Drake that morning. The mattress also felt a bit more firm than usual. Oh, well. Drake reached up his hand to hit the alarm clock, as he did every morning. Then he realized there was no alarm clock there. What was going on? 

The sound of the alarm was driving Josh nuts. Why didn't Drake turn it off? Josh picked up a pillow and threw it over his shoulder at Drake. However, he heard a light thump against the wall. Had he missed in the dark? Probably. Josh sighed and went to step on the floor next to his bed.

"WAH!" Josh yelled, taking a sudden and unexpected tumble.

"JOSH! GET OFF OF ME!" Drake yelled.

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M ON TOP OF YOU!" Josh yelled back. "Hey, if I just fell on top of you, that would mean I was in your bed, and you were in mine."

"That is wrong on so many levels," said Drake.

"Seems like the only logical explanation," Josh replied. "But I don't know how it happened in the first place. Maybe we both sleep walk."

"I guess so," Drake replied. "You know, we've been in the same room too long. We're starting to sound like each other." Drake got up and went to switch on the lights. As he did, he heard a yell come from Josh.

"Josh, what are you...OH MY GOD!" Drake shouted, as he turned to look at his brother.

"You look like me!" Josh hollered.

"Uh, you look like me!" Drake responded.

"This has to be a dream," said Josh. "Maybe if we pinch ourselves, we'll wake up."

Drake glanced at Josh and gave him a quick pinch.

"OW!" Josh yelled. "What'd you do that for?"

"You said maybe we should pinch ourselves," Drake replied. "You look like myself."

"That's not what I meant!" Josh shouted.

"Whatever," Drake said. "Wait a minute! You didn't wake up! It's not a dream!"

"Then the only other explanation is that we've gone crazy," said Josh.

"Or we're in some twisted dimension," Drake replied.

"I don't think so Drake," said Josh.

"Then how do you explain what's going on? You're supposed to be the smart one!"

"I can't explain it. I wish I could, but I can't."

"What are we gonna do?" asked Drake. "There's no way I'm going to get any dates if I look like you."

Josh gave Drake a glare.

"No offense," said Drake. "But you're not the most popular guy in school, and you have a terrible reputation among the girls."

"That's not important," Josh replied. "There's that huge English test coming up. I can't take it for myself, and you can't take it for yourself as long as we're like this. Oh no! I'm gonna fail it because you're me!"

"Wait a second," said Drake.

"What?" Josh asked.

"I've got a date with Claire this Friday," Drake replied. "What if we're still stuck like this?"

"Um, that's when I'm going out with Mindy."

"WHAT? THERE IS NO WAY I WILL GO OUT WITH MINDY CRENSHAW! YOU HEAR ME JOSH?"

"Calm down, Drake. Hopefully this will all be over by Friday. Besides, if I went out with Claire, that would be disastrous."

"Man, it would," Drake responded. "Okay. We have to figure this out by Friday. If not, oh man, this is so bad."

"Maybe we should tell Mom and Dad," Josh suggested.

"Oh, yeah," replied Drake. "We'll just tell them we magically switched bodies, and then listen to them laugh."

"Okay," said Josh. "So that's not a good idea. We could go to a psychiatrist or something then."

"Who will laugh even harder than Mom and Dad."

"You're really not helping, you know that?" asked Josh.

"Your ideas haven't been very good!"

"At least I'm thinking! -- Wow. It's weird to hear the word 'think' with your voice."

"Thanks a lot," Drake replied. "Look, let's find Megan. It's probably some crazy prank she managed to pull."

"Maybe," said Josh. "I don't know how she'd pull this one though."

"Well, only one way to find out," Drake responded.

* * *

The guys found themselves outside of Megan's bedroom. Josh reached up his hand and knocked on the door. Megan opened it. 

"What do you boobs want?" she asked.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" shouted Drake, who looked like Josh, so Megan thought he was Josh.

"Josh, what are you talking about?" Megan responded.

"Don't play dumb Megan," said Josh, who looked like Drake, so Megan thought he was Drake. "We know you're behind this."

"Behind what?" she asked. "You guys are really starting to freak me out."

"How'd you switch us?" asked Drake.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Drake, why has Josh gone insane?"

"He hasn't gone insane," Josh replied. "And Josh is me. I just look like Drake."

Megan stared at her brothers as if the both of them had suddenly grown two heads.

"So," said Megan. "Drake is Josh, and Josh is Drake."

"Yes," replied Drake.

Megan continued staring at them, and then she suddenly burst out into laughter.

"This isn't funny Megan!" said Josh.

"Oh, come on," said Megan. "Like I believe you. Not even I could manage to do that, and there's a lot I could do to you two."

"But," said Josh.

"Cut the act, but thanks for the laughs," said Megan, and she shut her bedroom door.

"Great," said Drake. "Now what?"

"I guess she didn't do it," said Josh. "I have absolutely no idea what to do now. We'll just have to go to school. Maybe all of this will be cleared up tomorrow morning."

"I hope so," Drake replied. "Because tomorrow is Friday, and I am NOT going out with your girlfriend."

"Headaches!" said Josh.

"It's weird to hear that come out of my mouth," Drake laughed.

Josh gave his brother a glare, and Drake became silent and looked away.

* * *

Drake was downstairs and eating breakfast when Walter walked into the room. 

"Morning Josh," said Walter.

Drake didn't respond.

"I said morning Josh," Walter tried again.

Drake still didn't respond.

"Son! Are you awake?"

Drake snapped his head back and looked up at Walter.

"I didn't know you were talking to me," said Drake. "Sorry Dad."

"I said your name twice," said Walter.

"No you..." Drake began. Then he remembered his overnight change in appearance. "Sorry, guess I'm a little tired. I didn't hear you."

"Oh," said Walter. "Sorry. Didn't you sleep very well?"

"As well as I could considering I know look like my step-brother," Drake mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Walter.

"Nothing," Drake responded quickly.

Josh walked into the room to find his dad and Drake sitting at the kitchen table.

"Good morning Drake," said Walter.

"Morning Dad," Josh responded.

"Wow," said Walter. "You guys aren't acting like yourselves today. Normally Josh is the one who's more awake."

"Yeah," said Josh. "Well, we better get to school. Come on Josh!" Josh grabbed Drake out of his chair and pulled him out the door.

"Ow," said Drake.

"Sorry," said Josh. "Man, Dad's easy. Mom will think something's up. We haven't even done anything wrong, and we'd probably get grounded."

"And what if Megan tells her first?" asked Drake.

"Mom and Dad will ground us because you know Megan will say we tried to freak her out."

"Yeah," Drake replied.

"Well," said Josh. "Let's just try to get through this day. It's going to be so long."

"Uh, you're not leaving with my hair looking like that," said Drake.

"What?" asked Josh.

"Come here," said Drake. He pulled out a comb and started to run it through Josh's, er his own, hair.

"Do you mind?" asked Josh, swatting Drake's hand away.

"Hey, I got a reputation to protect," Drake responded.

"Oh jeez. Let's just go to school."

"Fine."

"I just hope that tomorrow, everything is back to normal."

* * *

Okay, please read and review. I want to know if you guys like this concept.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: So, I'm starting my classes tomorrow. We'll see how much I can update this. Sorry for the time block, but I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. I knew what I wanted to do after this one, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in this one. So, if it's bad...sorry. I remember when I came up with this story idea. It was October and I was sitting in my campus's cafeteria waiting to meet my friends, listening to Telegraph and doodling in my notebook. I started thinking of story ideas. I was like, I gotta use this! ...and I write it in January, lol. Oh, well. I'm writing it now aren't I?

* * *

Drake and Josh walked into school. How were they going to work this?

"Okay," said Josh. "We only know our own locker combinations, so we might as well go to them. If anyone asks, I was asked by you to get something from your locker, and you were asked by me to get something from mine. Got it?"

"I guess so," Drake replied. "See ya in a few minutes."

The guys split up and headed to their own lockers. Drake got to his own. Once there, he was approached by Claire, his date for tomorrow night.

"Drake...uh...not Drake?" said Claire, giving him a blank stare.

"Uh, no," Drake replied. "I'm his brother Josh."

"Oh," Claire replied. "Where is he, and why are you at his locker?"

"I'm, uh, getting something for him. He asked me to," Drake responded.

"Why didn't he just get it himself?" asked Claire.

"I don't know," said Drake. "Um, I have to go find him." Drake was beginning to panic.

"I'll go with you," said Claire.

"Uh, no," said Drake.

"Why not?"

"Because, um, uh, look, he's not, I gotta go!" Drake cried, taking off down the hall. Man, he was making a fool of himself. Oh, well. At least it was Josh looking like the lunatic and not him.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Josh was at his locker, grabbing what he, er, Drake would need. This whole situation was starting to confuse Josh. He hadn't counted on Mindy walking up to his locker that morning. Dang, how would this work?

"Hi..." said Mindy. "Drake, what are you doing at Josh's locker?"

"Um," Josh began. "He asked me to get something for him."

"I don't believe that," said Mindy.

"Why not?" asked Josh.

"You're not that type of person." Mindy definitely wasn't as easy to fool as Claire. "Wait," she said. "It's been like twenty seconds and you haven't called me 'creature' or 'horrible girl.' You haven't thrown a single insult in my direction."

"Well," said Josh. "Seems kinda childish, don't you think?"

"I guess," said Mindy. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Drake Parker?"

Josh considered telling Mindy the truth. Maybe she'd believe him.

"You see," said Josh. "I'm not really Drake. I'm Josh. We somehow magically switched bodies in our sleep, and now..."

"Okay, Drake," said Mindy. "Seriously, you _need_ to work on lying to people."

She didn't believe him. Of course she didn't believe him. She thought he was Drake! He was the last person she'd believe.

"Anyway," said Mindy. "I have to go talk to Mrs. Haifer. If you see Josh, tell him I'm looking for him."

"Sure," said Josh.

Mindy walked down the hall toward the English classroom. Josh sighed. Mindy wasn't easy to fool. They just had to figure this out. Josh glanced in the other direction to see Drake come flying down the hall. It freaked Josh out at first, due to Drake's outward appearance.

"What's up?" Josh asked as Drake came to a screeching halt in front of him.

"Claire is asking questions," Drake replied.

"Man," said Josh. "So is Mindy. She already thinks something is up."

"Why?"

"I didn't insult her."

"Why not?"

"I'm not going to insult my girlfriend."

"Whatever," Drake responded. "How are we supposed to get through this day?"

"I don't know," Josh replied. "Just try to be like each other I guess."

* * *

The guys sat in English. They knew this would be difficult. Mrs. Haifer didn't like Drake at all. Josh was not looking forward to class while Drake was looking forward to it because Mrs. Haifer loved Josh. They were supposed to be working on editing a paragraph with mistakes in it. They'd have to correct it out loud at the end. Josh was worried Mrs. Haifer would ask him to do it, as Drake would have to answer for him.

"All right everyone," said Mrs. Haifer. "We'll correct this now. Let's begin with Mindy."

Mindy corrected the first sentence flawlessly. Drake sat there wondering if Mrs. Haifer would call on him or Josh. That would make things very interesting.

"Michael, will you please correct the next sentence?" asked Mrs. Haifer.

Michael read through the next sentence.

"Okay," said Mrs. Haifer. "I hate to do this, but Drake..."

Drake smiled from where he sat. Josh would have to answer, Mrs. Haifer was going to think he was smart for once.

"Well," began Josh. "I didn't see what was wrong with the sentence."

"Drake!" said Mrs. Haifer. "There is punctuation wrong everywhere. You're telling me you didn't catch one?"

"Nope," said Josh.

Drake wondered what Josh was doing. Wait, he was trying to act like Drake. Such a shame. Well, Drake couldn't exactly act like Josh.

"Josh," said Mrs. Haifer. "Please."

"I didn't find anything wrong either, Mrs. Haifer," said Drake.

Mrs. Haifer stared at Drake in bewilderment.

"But, but Josh!" she cried.

Drake smirked and looked over at Josh. His face was red.

"I didn't," said Drake. "Sorry Mrs. Haifer."

Mrs. Haifer looked as though she would fall over. Josh didn't know the answer?

Mindy glanced back at Drake. She couldn't understand what the matter was. Normally Josh could answer a question like that.

Josh's face was still red. He should have realized Drake wouldn't know the answer. He sighed and put up his hand.

"Yes, Drake?" said Mrs. Haifer. "What comment would you like to add. Quite frankly, I'm shocked that you even raised your hand."

"Well," said Josh. "I just noticed that there should be no comma before the word 'since' and you should use 'really' instead of 'so' to emphasize the word 'blue.'"

Mrs. Haifer looked like she'd faint.

"You...are right," she said. "I'm sorry. This is just amazing."

Drake wondered what Josh was up to now. What difference did it make if he answered now? Oh, well. Maybe Mrs. Haifer would be a bit nicer to him from now on.

* * *

After somehow making it through their remaining morning classes, Drake and Josh went to lunch still worried about their situation.

"Okay," said Drake. "What was with you in English?"

"I was trying to act like you," Josh replied. "Then I realized you can't act like me."

"So you gave in?"

"Not really," Josh smiled. "You'll see."

"Whatever."

Mindy approached the table and slid next to Drake. She leaned in for a kiss, and Drake dodged it.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Mindy.

"Nothing," said Drake.

"You're not acting like yourself today, and neither is Drake," she said, puzzled.

"It's just um...that um..." Drake stammered.

"We're just not feeling very well today," Josh said.

"Really?" asked Mindy.

"Yeah," Josh continued. "Just feeling a little off today."

"I see," said Mindy. She turned back to Drake. "Are we still going out tomorrow?"

"Of course you two are," said Josh.

"Huh?" asked Drake.

"Gee Drake," said Mindy. "You're being very supportive of our relationship now."

"Uh," said Josh. "Gotta grow up sometime, right?"

"I guess so," Mindy replied. She got up looking confused and headed out the doors of the cafeteria.

* * *

Drake and Josh got ready for bed. This was all too weird. Josh walked into the bedroom after cleaning up in the bathroom.

"I WILL NOT GO OUT WITH MINDY TOMORROW!" Drake yelled at his brother.

"Good evening to you too," Josh replied. "Besides, you might not even have to go out with her. Maybe we'll be normal tomorrow morning."

"I hope so," Drake said. "If not...well I don't want to think about what will happen."

"Relax," Josh said.

Drake went to climb into his bed.

"Um," said Josh. "If we sleep in our own beds and Megan comes in to do something to us in the middle of the night, she'll think something's up. I'd rather she didn't think something was up with the switching of the beds. Besides, if we switch back, we'll be in our own beds tomorrow morning."

"Okay," said Drake. "Fine." He climbed into Josh's bed. Josh shut off the light and climbed into Drake's bed. They both hoped things would be right in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: Oops. Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I had my classes. Then American Idol started this week...so, hehehe. Okay, yeah. Um, I'm not sure how much I'll get to update this story with classes. It should happen, but we'll see how often I can. Okay, here's chapter four.

* * *

Drake woke up the next morning. He was afraid to open his eyes. What if things weren't back to normal? He rolled over on his back and prepared to open one eye... 

"AHHH!" Josh came crashing down on top of Drake.

"I take it we're not back to normal," said Drake.

"What was your first clue?" Josh climbed off of his brother. Drake got out of bed. Things were going really bad now, especially with their dates that night.

"Oh man," said Drake. "We're still each other, and I'm supposed to go out with Claire and you're supposed to go out with Mindy, and now, everything is going to end badly."

"Drake," said Josh. "We can get through a date. Come on."

"Nope," said Drake. "I can't survive a date with Crenshaw. I might as well jump right now and just end it all." Drake went to open the bedroom window.

"Drake!" Josh yelled. "What is the matter with you? You're not the only one with problems. I have to go out with Claire. How am I going to deal with that? I don't know how to be you that way."

Drake looked at Josh for a moment and made to climb out the window.

"Drake!" Josh yelled again. He grabbed his brother and dragged him to the couch. "It's not _that_ bad."

"Easy for you to say," Drake moaned. "Any man would rather be kissing Claire than your girlfriend."

"Hey," said Josh, "I'd rather kiss my own girlfriend."

"Okay, that's you," Drake replied. "I don't think you apply in that situation."

"Hey," said Josh. "Look, let's not argue. We still have to get through school again. We'll have to think about this after, and then get ready for our dates."

"Great," Drake replied.

* * *

Drake got out of the shower. To say he was ready to break the mirror because he had to go out with Mindy that night would be an understatement. He walked back into the bedroom and glared at Josh. 

"What?" asked Josh.

"I hope you're happy," Drake responded.

"I didn't ask to switch bodies with you."

"I just want this night to be over," Drake growled. "Why couldn't you have just cancelled?"

"Because Mindy's already suspicious," Josh replied.

"Can't you change it from a movie?" Drake begged.

"Why?"

"Hello! Make out date!"

"Mindy and I don't make out during movies," Josh laughed.

Drake stared at his brother much like Megan had the day before, like he had grown a second head.

"Okay," said Drake. "Let me get this straight. You sit two hours in the dark next to a girl you're attracted to and don't make a move?"

"Yeah," Josh replied.

"Are you some kind of freak?"

"Hey, look at the bright side, you don't have to kiss Mindy during the movie."

Drake's face brightened at that.

"No I don't," Drake smiled. "Then again, there's still the end of the night."

"I don't know how you'll get out of that one," Josh said.

Drake headed for the window again.

"Drake Parker!" Josh yelled.

* * *

Josh pulled up to Claire's house. He looked in the mirror and made to mess with his hair. 

"Man," said Josh out loud. "Now I'm starting to act like him!"

Josh got out of the car and knocked on Claire's door. A tall man who Josh assumed to be her father answered the door.

"Hi," said Josh faintly.

"You Drake Parker?" asked the man.

"Yes," Josh replied shakily.

"Come in."

Josh walked into the house and stood in the middle of the living room. He glanced around.

"Now," said Claire's father. "No funny business. Have her home by midnight."

"Yes, sir," said Josh. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"I should hope not."

Claire came down the stairs. She was dressed in a short mini skirt and small top. She was a bit of a barbie look alike. Drake didn't always go for that type. It just happened to be the one he chose that week. Josh sighed.

"Hi Claire," he said.

"Hello Drake," she giggled.

"Well, let's go," Josh said. He was freaking out a bit. Could he really spend a night acting like Drake?

* * *

As Drake was leaving the house, the phone rang. 

"Hello," he said, glad his having to see Mindy was delayed.

"Hey Josh," said the guy on the other end. It was Drake's bass player. "Is Drake around?"

Drake sighed.

"No," he said. "He won't be back until late tonight."

"Oh, well, could you tell him we got a gig for tomorrow night?"

"Sure," Drake replied.

"Okay, bye."

Drake hung up. Wait a second. What if they weren't back to normal by tomorrow night?

He got into the car and headed to the Premiere. He had to meet Mindy there. Could he act like Josh?

* * *

Josh pulled up in front of the Premiere. Fortunately, their dates were at the same place. Then if there was major trouble, they could help each other out of it. He got out and opened Claire's door. Josh wondered if Drake ever did this. Maybe. Something had to keep all the ladies drawn to him besides just his good looks and charm. 

He walked into the Premiere with Claire, and they chose a table. Josh sighed. He could not wait for this date to be over. He glanced up and saw Mindy walk in. He almost waved to her. Then he remembered he was Drake, and Drake would never wave to Mindy.

"Would you like a soda?" Josh asked Claire.

"Sure," she said. "Diet Mocha Cola."

"Sure thing," Josh replied. He headed toward the counter to get their drinks. He saw Drake walk into the lobby. He didn't look very happy.

"Josh!" said Mindy. "You look a little down. Is something wrong?"

"I just don't feel exactly like myself today," Drake replied. "I'll be fine."

"Oh," she said. "Well, if you're sure. I'll go buy the tickets."

"Great," Drake responded. He still looked upset.

Josh walked by and grabbed Drake by the shoulder.

"Hey," said Josh. "Turn that frown upside down."

"Okay," said Drake. "I do not rhyme. Do not do anything that would ruin my image in front of Claire."

"Oh fine," Josh replied. "As long as you don't do anything to ruin anything with Mindy."

"Fine," Drake sighed. He could tell that tonight would be very long.

* * *

Josh put up with Claire talking about her girlfriends and her dad. Then he put up with her talking about her tanning time. Then he put up with her talking about, for whatever reason, cute little penguins. Josh decided that tuning her out wouldn't be such a bad idea. If this went bad, oh, well. He'd save Drake from being bored to death.

* * *

The movie was about halfway through. Drake had feared that Mindy would want to experiment and make out like other couples did. However, she hadn't yet. He sighed. He hadn't really watched a movie in the theater in a while. He was too busy to pay attention to the movie. This movie was actually pretty good. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand slip into his. He felt his face grow hot. He was holding hands with Mindy Crenshaw! He was holding hands with the only girl he still declared to be "icky." Drake casually pulled his hand away. He reached for his Mocha Cola. Hopefully, things would continue smoothly. He was freaking out because he might have to kiss Mindy at the end of the night.

* * *

Josh finally tuned back in to what Claire was saying. 

"...so, then I bought the pink top because I thought it went so well with the pants..."

Josh looked at his watch. It was only 10:30. Drake and Mindy would be out of the movie soon. Josh hoped that would be his ticket out of there. He glanced up and saw Drake and Mindy walk out of the theater. Drake was walking uneasily. It looked like Mindy was trying to get close, but Drake was preventing that. Drake shot Josh a look. Josh rolled his eyes. Drake was going to have to deal with this. After all, Josh was dealing with Claire.

* * *

Drake walked Mindy out to her car. 

"Are you sure you're okay, Josh?" asked Mindy.

"Yeah," said Drake. "I probably just need to go get some sleep."

"Okay," said Mindy. She leaned forward to kiss him. Drake dodged her lips.

"Josh," said Mindy, "what's the matter with you?"

"Um," said Drake. "I'm just worried that I'm acting weird because I might be sick, and I don't want you to catch what I could possibly have." Drake was proud of himself for this excuse. Mindy looked at him.

"Fine," she said. She kissed him on the cheek.

Drake tried to look like it didn't bother him, but inside, he was screaming. She just kissed him! That was disgusting! Mindy Crenshaw! The creature!

"See you later," said Drake. "Really, I don't want you to catch anything, so..." He covered his mouth, to prove his point.

"Well, thanks for the concern," said Mindy, hotly. She got in her car and slammed the door. She took off pretty quickly down the road.

"What'd I say?" asked Drake, standing there, dumbfounded.

* * *

Josh drove Claire home. He really couldn't take the pointless babble any longer. He finally pulled up to her house. He got out and opened her car door. Walking her to her front door, he knew he was going to have to kiss her. He had to be like Drake. Oh, man. He was dating Mindy. Well, technically, Mindy had gone out with Drake. Oh, why was he trying to justify this? 

"I had a nice time, Drake," said Claire. "Normally guys just want to hear about themselves. You're such a good listener. Maybe we can go out again."

"Uh, maybe," said Josh.

Claire leaned forward and kissed Josh on the lips. He felt a bit awkward since Mindy was his girlfriend. However, the last time a girl who was hot and wasn't his girlfriend kissed him was when he was wearing his lucky shirt and got kissed by a teen model.

"Bye," Josh said quickly and headed down the steps of Claire's porch. He got into his car and headed straight home. When he got there, he headed up to his and Drake's room. While walking by the bathroom, he saw Drake scrubbing at his face.

"Trying to rub your cheek raw?" asked Josh.

"_Your_ girlfriend kissed me," came Drake's reply.

"Well, excuse my girlfriend for thinking you were me. Now stop that. I don't want to be known as 'The Boy with the Red Face.'" He turned and headed into the bedroom. Drake followed shortly after Josh.

"You know," said Drake. "A date with your girlfriend is pretty boring...just a movie? Come on, anyone can do better than that."

"A date with Claire is too," Josh replied. "All she talks about is herself."

"Did you kiss her?"

"Kind of..."

"Kind of?"

"She kissed me," said Josh.

"No! Josh! I always make the first move."

"Well," said Josh. "Excuse me for not reading _Drake Parker's Methods of Dating_ before I left the house tonight!" He walked toward the computer. Before he turned it on, he noticed a message on the answering machine. "Did you check the messages?"

"No," said Drake. "As soon as I got home I went right to the bathroom to wash of the Mindy germs."

"I see," said Josh. He pressed play as he rolled his eyes.

"Josh," came the message. "It's Mindy." She sounded pretty upset. Josh shot Drake a look. "I can't figure out what was going on tonight. All I can figure is that you didn't really want to get back together with me. Why didn't you just say so in the first place? We could have avoided all this. It definitely wouldn't have hurt as much then as it does now. This is something I'd expect from Drake, not from you. I'm sorry, but we're officially over."

Josh stood there staring at the answering machine. He couldn't believe the words he had just heard. He slowly glanced at Drake. It was quite evident that Josh was angry.

"What happened tonight?" Josh asked in a growl.

"N-nothing," said Drake. "We watched the movie. She tried to hold my hand, but I kinda pulled it away, but that was it. She only really got upset when she had to kiss me on the cheek and not the lips, but Josh, come on. Don't overreact to this. I mean, it's just Mindy."

That did it.

"DRAKE PARKER!" Josh yelled. He dove at his brother and knocked him down on the couch. He couldn't pick him up this time as he normally did.

"JOSH!" Drake hollered back. Suddenly, the door opened and their parents were standing there.

"Drake. Josh." The guys glanced up at Walter. Uh-oh. "What is going on in here?"

"Nothing Dad," said Josh. "Just, goofing around."

"Well, keep it down," Walter replied. "We are trying to sleep, and so is your sister."

"Yes, Dad," Josh replied.

"Good." Walter and Audrey left the room. Drake sighed in relief. Then Josh dove at him again.

* * *

Author's Note: Let me know what you think of this chapter...I'll try to do the next one soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: Yes, it's been taking me a while. Sorry about that. I sat down and wrote this entire chapter though. So, here you are. Not as comedic as other chapters and a bit short, but with all that's happened so far, it's not going to be. Things will pick up again during the next update. Enjoy. Remember, Drake and Josh have switched bodies...in case anyone is confused and lost since I haven't updated in a while. lol.

* * *

Josh was angry with Drake. Why did he have to ruin his relationship with Mindy two days after they'd gotten back together? Drake walked into the bedroom and noticed Josh's evil glare. 

"Look," said Drake. "I said I was sorry."

"This is the second time you've ruined things for me and Mindy! Remember the wrestling match with Lucy? You know, this was my third strike with Mindy!"

"What are you talking about?"

"First, she broke up with me because I wouldn't tell you we were dating. Strike one. Then, we broke up a little while ago, for reasons that neither of us found significant but broke up anyway. Strike two. Now, you had to ruin it with your idea of "Mindy germs" and getting infected with them! Strike three!"

"Let's not use baseball terms to describe this, okay?" asked Drake.

"I think you're missing the point!" responded Josh. "Look, you ruined that already for me. If you fail the English test on Monday...so help you."

"...Okay..." Drake replied, backing away from Josh. "Um, this might be a really bad time to tell you, but my band has a gig tonight."

"DRAKE!"

* * *

Drake stared at the English text. Josh said he wouldn't help him out with his gig problem unless he studied. Josh also said Drake was lucky. After what happened with Mindy, Josh said Drake owed him...big time. 

This was really boring to Drake. He'd barely ever studied for a test in his life, except when he and Josh pulled an all-nighter so he could pass algebra. Drake glanced at the clock. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. If Josh was going to help him with his band situation, he'd better be thinking about it.

Josh walked into the room.

"Okay, I know I'm in pretty deep right now," said Drake. He noticed Josh's, or rather, his own, eyes narrow (man, that freaked him out). "Okay, deeper than I've ever been, but if you don't come up with something soon, the gig will have to be canceled and I can't cancel on the band again Josh."

"Well," said Josh, "you should have thought of that before you ruined my love life. But, I have come up with a plan that will keep you good with the band, and no one will be the wiser."

"Okay," said Drake, leaning forward. "What is it?"

"You'll have to play backstage for me."

"Huh?"

"It worked in _Freaky Friday_."

"Josh, that was a movie."

"Yeah, a movie that's playing out in our lives right now!"

"Good point. Okay, fine. There's nothing else we can do."

"Right," Josh replied. He turned and headed out of the room.

"Hey, Josh," said Drake.

"What?" Josh turned around and gave Drake another glare.

"Thanks," Drake replied quietly.

"You're welcome," Josh responded and left the room.

* * *

Josh climbed down the stairs. He sat on the couch and turned on the television. Man, was Drake irritating him. Even the fun he was having in Mrs. Haifer's class wasn't enough to cheer Josh up now. He'd been answering questions right as Drake, in hopes that when things were normal again, Mrs. Haifer would think of Drake as having unearthed some kind of genius but watch it all blow up in her face when she realizes she's wrong. Actually, this would have been a fun prank to explain to Drake. He would have been all for it. At the moment, though, Josh wanted nothing to do with his step-brother.

* * *

Back in the bedroom, Drake sighed. He definitely didn't deserve what Josh was doing for him. Drake squirmed in his chair. He knew what he had to do. It was the fact that he didn't want to do it that bothered him. If he didn't, Josh would hate him forever. Why did this have to be really complicated? Why couldn't it just fix itself overnight? It seemed to have caused itself overnight. 

Drake was slowly starting to realize that Josh's life wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He studied hard at night to get good grades. He even stayed away from Mindy the night before a test. As much as Drake couldn't stand Mindy, she made Josh happy. He was always glad to see her, which made Drake sick to his stomach, but Josh was his brother. That was what mattered.

Drake sighed again and turned back to the textbook. He knew there were two things he needed to do. If he didn't do them, he'd lose his brother's trust and friendship forever. Two things he very much wanted to keep.

* * *

A/N: I took the guitar idea from _Freaky Friday_, yes. But the problem was the same. I hadn't even thought about it until I wrote the problem out. Oh, well. It's out there now. Anyway, read and review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and things will pick up again in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates. Okay, yes, Drake's playing guitar as a cover for Josh like in _Freaky Friday_. That's one of theonly similarities...I forgot about the test in the movie too. Hmm. Maybe it was my subconcious. Oh, well. Please read and review.

* * *

Josh looked in the mirror in the bathroom. His hair was fixed for the night, and Drake had showed him specifically what clothes to wear. Drake really didn't want Josh to mess this up. Of course, Drake had already mess things up for Josh, so why should Josh care about what happened to Drake? Josh sighed. He did care about his brother, but he was still mad at him for what had happened the previous night. Who wouldn't be?

* * *

Drake laid the guitars in the backseat of the car. He sighed. Was Josh's plan really going to work? Suppose someone noticed him playing backstage? Oh, well. It had to work. Drake waited in the driver's seat for Josh to come outside. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Maybe Josh would calm down about what happened soon. After all, it was Josh. He didn't stay mad very long.

* * *

Josh walked out to the car. He sat silently in the passenger seat, clearly not in the mood to talk. Drake didn't press and started the car. 

The drive was silent. It bothered Drake because Josh was barely ever this quiet. He couldn't take it. He turned on the radio. Josh sighed and looked out the window. Drake was full of guilt at this point. He just had to make things right.

* * *

Drake handed Josh one of the guitars and took the other himself. 

"Okay," said Drake. "Let's go see what we're dealing with."

The two brothers headed backstage. There were cords and wires all over the place.

"Here," said Drake. He made sure his guitar could play, and Josh's wouldn't. "Now, all we have to do is wait."

"Great," said Josh.

Drake walked away. He found a group of girls giggling. He slipped back into his old "Drake Parker mode." So what if he looked like Josh? It was still Drake's charm and personality that would shine through.

"Hello ladies," said Drake.

"Hi," they replied.

"What are you three doing back here all alone?"

"We're wondering about the band," said one.

"Oh," said Drake. "My brother's in the band. He plays guitar, and he sings."

"Oh," said one of the girls. "I know who that is. That's Drake Parker. Oh, he's so cute. I would love to go out with him. I mean he won the talent show three times in a row. I hope he wins again this year...then it'll be a fourpeat!"

"Did you just make that word up?" asked Drake.

"Yes," the girl replied. Drake finally realized why this girl looked familiar. Quite often he would get an, "I love you, bye!" from her. Oh, well. It was good to be him.

"He sings so well," she continued on. This was all actually getting on Drake's nerves. Normally girls didn't get on his nerves. This was different for him.

Wait a second...sings! Did Josh know all the words to his songs? He knew "I Found a Way." Did he know anymore than that? Maybe the choruses, but definitely not the entire songs. Oh, man. Drake was ready to freak out.

"Speaking of which," said Drake, "I have to go find my brother."

"DRAKE!" Josh yelled.

"Think I found him," said Drake. He ran over quickly.

"Where have you been?" asked Josh.

"Just...talking," said Drake. If Josh found out who he'd been talking to, well, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Come on. You have to be ready for when the band starts."

"I know, I know," said Drake. "Look, Josh. We forgot..."

"Okay," called the stage manager. "I need you guys onstage. And you," he said pointing at Drake, "don't bother the band! Now!"

"But, but," said Drake.

"NOW!" said the stage manager. Boy, something was wrong with this guy.

"Yes, sir," said Drake, beginning to cower.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Josh. Someone dragged him onstage.

Drake shook his head. It wouldn't work. He had to fix this and fast. He called up Megan on his, er, Josh's cell phone.

"Megan," said Drake. "I need your help..."

* * *

Josh was ready onstage. He was about to get ready to start when he remembered. He didn't know all the words to Drake's songs! Josh frantically looked around. He turned around and almost fell over. 

"Dude," said the drummer. "What's your problem?"

"I can't do this," said Josh.

"Drake, don't do this today. Can we just get through this?"

"But...but...but..." How could he explain this. "I don't know the words!"

Everyone suddenly burst out into laughter.

"Good one, Drake. Yeah, you forgot your own words. Thanks for taking a little pressure off."

Josh looked scared to death. Why was this happening to him? It was all because of Sheldon. He went to Heaven, and now Josh's life was bad. Josh thought a moment about his little turtle.

"Drake!" yelled the stage manager. "What are you doing? Get going!"

"Yes, sir," Josh replied. He stood up in front of everyone, ready to make a complete fool out of himself. No, not himself. His brother, Drake. Josh hadn't realized before how hard it actually was to be Drake. Really. He had to know all these songs. Guitar chords, lyrics, and the song order. How did he keep track of all of it? And how did he deal with the really talkative girls that he dated? That one really threw Josh. He suddenly felt guilty. He was going to ruin something for Drake.

Josh sighed. The band began to play. Drake was playing the guitar backstage, and Josh did his best to fake it onstage. He was supposed to sing soon, he just knew it. He didn't know the words to this song though. He glanced up and noticed when of the televisions were on. It was showing lyrics? Wait...those were Drake's lyrics! It was like a karaoke thing. Maybe things would work out after all.

Josh opened his mouth and sang the words. He could sound like Drake, which was good since Josh didn't think he sang very well. It didn't help that Megan told him he couldn't either. Of course, he did "Soul Man" with Drake at the talent show. Josh had no idea how Drake came up with that idea, but he was grateful to him for it.

* * *

Drake drove Josh home. It was pretty quiet again until Josh spoke.

"That went rather well," said Josh.

"Yeah," said Drake. "You faked that okay."

"Well, I'm glad that's over, and I'm glad you thought of running the lyrics on the screen, or I would have been dead. Of course, you had to protect your band."

"Well, you know, I don't like letting people down," Drake replied.

"Yeah, right. What about your teachers?"

"Ah, that's different. They assign homework. That's just asking for a let down."

"...Hey, I was in the TTT," Josh responded. "I assigned homework."

"And were you let down?" asked Drake.

"Okay, okay. I get your point. Anyway, thanks for not letting me blow it."

"No problem," said Drake.

"How'd you get the words up anyway?"

"Megan."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

Author's Note: Quick update, huh? A little short, but things are starting to wrap up. There's probably only one chapter left. Sad, but I do have an idea for another story.

* * *

Josh had not seen Drake all day Sunday. Where had he been? He was supposed to have been studying for the English test that they were supposed to take that day. Josh stood in the middle of the bedroom, waiting for Drake to wake up. 

Drake sat up on the bed and stared at Josh.

"What are you doing?" asked Drake.

"Where were you yesterday?" said Josh. "We have the test today. You were supposed to be studying."

"Relax," Drake replied. "It's all going to be fine."

"Says you..."

* * *

Josh and Drake stood in front of the English classroom. Josh was giving Drake a lecture on how he better not ruin his English grade. 

"Now, if you don't know an answer on multiple choice, choose one anyway. Do not, I repeat do not leave one blank or choose the answer most teachers throw in to be funny, got it?"

"But it's fun to choose those," said Drake. "They're there for a reason."

"Drake..."

"Kidding..."

"Okay, essay. Do not..."

"I got it Josh!"

* * *

Drake sat in Josh's desk. He waited for Mrs. Haifer to pass out the tests. This would be interesting. 

"Here you are Drake," said Mrs. Haifer, handing a test to Josh. "You've been doing well in class. I hope you'll continue that."

"We'll see, Mrs. Haifer," Josh responded. He smiled. Boy, was she going to get a surprise if he and Drake ever got back to normal.

Mrs. Haifer handed Drake the test, and he began. The first question was "How was Hamlet's father murdered?" His choices were, "A) He was stabbed. B) Poison was poured into his ear. C) He was poisoned at dinner. D) He was pushed off of his horse, down a hill, into a river and drowned." Drake smiled and circled an answer.

* * *

Drake finally got to the essay question. It looked like a pain. "Do you believe Hamlet was insane? Why or why not? Give at least five details from the play to support your essay." This wouldn't be easy. Drake tried to think back to what he'd done the day before. He'd actually spent the entire day in the library studying a few theories that resulted from _Hamlet_. The one that he would never forget was the theory that Ophelia and Laertes were lovers...okay. After reading that one, he decided to stop. Actually, he had also studied some love poems. He was trying to make things right between him and Josh, and he couldn't believe what he was doing to make that happen.

* * *

Drake stood outside Mindy's locker at the end of the day. He hoped she wouldn't catch him. He slipped a small envelope inside her locker and hurried away.

* * *

Drake and Josh were getting ready for bed that night. Drake glanced over at Josh. 

"Hey, Josh," Drake said.

"What?" Josh asked.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened with Mindy. I really wish I could fix it."

"It really upset me, you know? I felt like you didn't care much about me."

"Hey, I do. Besides, it's not easy being you. Studying like that. Man, I don't know how you do it. I studied at the library all day yesterday."

"Well, normally I study all along, and then I'm not stuck doing an all day, all night study session."

"Ah, that's too much work," said Drake.

Josh rolled his eyes.

"Like I said though. It's not easy to be you. You're really smart, and that's hard to keep up with sometimes."

"Thanks," said Josh. "You know. I just realized the other day, it's not so easy to be you either. I mean, yeah all the girls, but how do you keep their names straight?"

"Yeah, that's not easy," Drake replied, matter-of-factly.

"Your band too. It's definitely not easy to do what you do. I'm sorry if I acted like a jerk at all."

"No problem," Drake responded.

"Actually," Josh continued, "it's been kinda cool getting to know you this way."

"You too," Drake replied. "...but not when we go on dates."

"Fair enough since the results were disastrous for me as well."

"Well, guess we'll continue tomorrow. Things can't get any worse, right?" questioned Drake.

"I don't think so," Josh replied. "Unless we're stuck this way forever."

"Ohhh..."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All Drake & Josh characters copyright their proper owners. I just wrote this. Um, similar to _Freaky Friday_? Yes. Only to the point where Drake and Josh switch. Then it's my game.

A/N: I'm very sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up here. Well, it's the last one anyway. Oh, and the poem in this chapter, I wrote specifically for this story. It's mine, and it took me a little while to write. I do have a few story ideas...so, I'm not sure what my next multi-chapter will be, but I do have an idea for a one-shot.

* * *

Josh woke up the next morning bright and early. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. What was going to happen now? Were they stuck this way forever? Josh squirmed in bed. The mattress felt a bit firm. Wait a second. The alarm went off. It sounded distant. Josh sat up in bed. 

"Drake!" Josh called.

"What?" Drake asked, sleepily.

"Turn off the alarm!"

"You know very well that you're closer Josh."

"No," Josh replied.

Drake sat up as well. He looked around the room. He was in his own bed. He glanced over at the alarm clock and hit it to shut it off. He looked over at Josh.

"You're you!" Drake yelled.

"I'm me?" Josh asked.

"Yes! I'm me?"

"Yeah, you are brother!"

Drake and Josh looked at each other. For some reason, this was too good to be true. They dove off of their beds and toward the bathroom. They nearly knocked down Megan in the process.

"Hey, boobs," she said. "Watch where you're going!"

Drake and Josh ignored her and ran into the bathroom. Drake blinked at his reflection in the mirror. Josh did the same. Both broke out into huge grins.

"Hug me brotha!" Josh yelled.

They grabbed each other as Megan walked by the bathroom.

"Just when I thought you two could not get anymore boobish..." she said, shaking her head.

* * *

They waited in English for class to start. Mrs. Haifer walked into the room and glanced around. 

"I managed to grade your tests last night from _Hamlet_. I was impressed with some of the grades. A bit surprised as well. Perhaps I've been mistaken about some students," she said, glancing in Drake's direction. Drake cracked a smile. He tried to muffle a laugh.

Mrs. Haifer was now handing back tests. She lay Josh's on top of his desk, upside down. Josh was afraid to look. Drake had to take it for him. He flipped it over. He still had his eyes closed. He opened one and glanced down at the paper. It was an A-! Josh whipped his head around and glanced back at Drake. Drake gave him a small wave. Josh glanced back at the paper, shocked. Drake had studied all day and gotten a good grade for Josh? It didn't seem at all possible, but it was true.

Mrs. Haifer handed Drake his test.

"Clearly, I've been wrong about you Drake. I must say though, please apply yourself more."

Drake looked at the test. A B+. Fair enough. Josh said he wasn't going to get him an A+ on this test. Drake understood. It would look very suspicious. Mrs. Haifer was now handing out their next books. This time it was _The Chosen_. Drake cracked a smile again when Mrs. Haifer handed him a copy.

* * *

Drake and Josh sat at lunch. Josh seemed happy about his grade, but now he seemed to have fallen back into a bad mood. Mindy walked up to the table. 

"Josh?" she asked.

Josh turned to look at her.

"What?" he questioned.

"Can you come by my house after school?"

Josh shot Drake a look. What had he done now?

"I guess so," Josh replied.

* * *

Josh stared at Mindy. Why did she ask him to come here? What had Drake done now? 

Mindy played with the pearls around her neck. This was difficult. Josh could see that in her eyes. He was trying to read what she was going to say before she said it.

"Josh," she began.

"Look, Mindy," Josh interrupted, but he stopped when she held up her hand.

"I was hurt by the way you were acting before at the Premiere. I thought you didn't care about me. You didn't seem like yourself that night. I want to know if you're okay."

"Yeah," Josh replied. "I just didn't feel like myself at all that night." This was not a lie. He was out with Drake's date. It had been really uncomfortable. "I'm sorry if I did or said anything to upset you."

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" Mindy asked. She didn't want to press, but she did care about him.

"No," Josh said. "It was an issue I had with Drake, but we've worked it all out. Just a brother problem. Everything's okay now. I guess it was just really bothering me that night."

"Oh," Mindy responded. "Well, I got the poem you put in my locker, and..."

"Poem?" Josh questioned.

"Yes," Mindy replied, tapping a blue piece of paper on her desk. "You put it in my locker. You said you felt bad about that night."

Josh was very confused. Then a wave of realization washed over his face.

"Oh, right," Josh replied. "Sorry. I'm a little tired." Drake? Wrote a poem?

"Thank you, Josh," Mindy said. "Can we give this one more try?"

"Sure," Josh replied. Mindy smiled and gave him a kiss.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Mountain Fizz?"

"Okay," Mindy said. She hurried down the stairs.

Josh looked at the piece of blue paper on top of Mindy's desk. He carefully began to read it.

_I didn't know what to do that night  
When you turned away from me  
Maybe my words came out all wrong  
Or it was something I just didn't say_

_How could I ever have been so blind  
To not know that you felt unloved?  
How could I have broken your heart  
To then break my own?_

_Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow  
And all this will be undone  
Then again, nothing's easy  
So maybe this is my fate_

_You may hate me for what happened  
But I just want you to know  
The man you saw that night  
He wasn't the one you know_

_He was selfish and alone  
He had not a clue who he was  
He felt lost and full of fear  
He wasn't man you know_

_If you can forgive me  
And I understand if you don't  
Please know that I care and love you  
And it's your heart I can't live without_

Josh smiled. How was he ever going to repay his brother?

* * *

Drake was sitting on the sofa, playing his guitar when Josh walked into the room. 

"Hey," said Drake without looking up from what he was doing.

"Hi, Drake," Josh replied. He stared at Drake. He still couldn't believe that Drake had written that poem. Drake, the rockstar, write a poem? It seemed absurd. Then again, it was true. "I know about the poem, Drake."

"You do?" Drake glanced up at Josh.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem," Drake smiled.

"One question though," Josh continued. "Why did you write a poem? You would normally write a song."

"Yeah, well, I was you," Drake replied. "I figured, that's what you would do."

"Cool," Josh said. "Everything is great now. I have my girlfriend, my own body...say, how are we normal again anyway?"

"I don't know," Drake responded. "I don't question good things."

"Right," Josh replied. He thought a minute. Then he had a thought. "Well, what was the last thing we said to each other before going to bed before we switched?"

"Goodnight?"

"No! We wished we knew what it was like to be each other!"

"Oh."

"And then last night we actually realized the grass isn't exactly greener on the other side."

"Josh, we're not cows...who cares about grass?"

Josh looked slightly aggravated at Drake's comment.

"It's a...oh, never mind. We realized neither of us have it very easy. Once we learned our lesson, I guess there was no reason to stay switched."

"Well," said Drake. "I'm just glad it's all over."

* * *

The guys were sitting in English class the next day. Things would be interesting today. Drake grinned as Mrs. Haifer walked into the room.

"Okay, class," Mrs. Haifer began. "Who can tell me of the events during the baseball game from your reading last night?" She glanced around the room. "Drake, would you please explain?"

"Uh, I can't Mrs. Haifer."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't read the assignment..."

Mrs. Haifer looked confused and torn.

"Oh, no...not this again. Drake Parker..."

"Why don't you ask Josh?" Drake grinned. "I'm positive he knows the answer."


End file.
